


Houses and Homes

by myth_taken



Series: Tara is Alive, Well, and in Love with Fred Burkle [3]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 05:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11730327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myth_taken/pseuds/myth_taken
Summary: After a little small talk, Tara handed the phone back to Fred, trying to figure out what she was feeling. Fred’s parents were so nice. They were exactly what a girl like Fred deserved, even. And yet, Tara felt empty.--Tara meets Fred's parents, and they take her under their wing.





	Houses and Homes

**Author's Note:**

> there's kind of a big gap between the last fic in the series and this... just trust that fred and tara are dating now. i'll write a fic where they actually get together later; i just wanted to write something about tara feeling loved and accepted in fred's house. also this isn't really plot-relevant to the series as a whole, so if you want to skip it on your way to the next work that's cool too.

Tara was looking for Fred. She wasn’t in the lobby, and Angel said she wasn’t out, either. Finally, Tara thought she might give it up; she didn’t really need Fred for anything real. She was just feeling kind of down, and Fred usually made her feel better.

She gave it one more shot: she went to Fred’s room and raised her fist to knock. She hesitated a moment-- what if Fred wanted to be alone?

And then she knocked. If Fred wanted to be alone, she could say so.

“Come in!” Fred called. 

Tara entered her room to see Fred sitting on her bed, holding the phone to her ear.

“Oh, um, is this a bad time?” she asked, already backing out.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Fred said. “I’m just talking to my parents, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you around.”

Tara smiled a little bit and joined Fred on the bed. Fred kept talking.

“Yeah, I’m still here! Sorry, my girlfriend just came in. What? Oh, yes, her name’s Tara, and she’s very nice. Don’t worry. Oh, sure.” She moved the phone away from her ear and covered the mouthpiece with her hand. “Do you want to say hi? They’re good people.”

Tara froze for a moment. “I-- um-- sure,” she said. 

Fred handed her the phone.

“H- hello.”

“Hello, Tara,” came a voice over the line. “I’m Fred’s mother. It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Um, it’s g- good to meet you too.”

“And I’m Fred’s father,” another voice said. “I hope you’re treating her right.”

“I hope so too,” Tara said, giving Fred a nervous smile. 

“I’m sure you’re doing just fine,” Fred’s mother said. 

“Thank you.”

After a little small talk, Tara handed the phone back to Fred, trying to figure out what she was feeling. Fred’s parents were so nice. They were exactly what a girl like Fred deserved, even. And yet, Tara felt empty. 

After a few more minutes of casual conversation, Fred looked at Tara. “Everything okay?” 

Tara nodded. “Yeah. I just-- I was feeling kind of--”

“Sad?” Fred asked.

“Yeah. So I came in here.”

Fred pulled Tara into a hug. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Tara said. She pulled back from the hug and adjusted her skirt. “Your parents seem nice.”

“They’re kind of clingy. I have to call them once a week or they get worried. I might have to go visit them soon.”

“That’s a good idea,” Tara said. “I’ll miss you.”

“Actually,” Fred said, a huge smile suddenly on her face, “I was thinking maybe you could come with me.”

“With you? Do you mean that?”

“Sure! We’ve got room at the house.” Fred leaned in and whispered, “And my parents already love you.”

“They do?” Tara asked.

“Yeah. Don’t take it too personally. They kind of love everyone who makes me happy.”

“I make you happy?”

“Of course you do, silly!” Fred kissed Tara’s cheek. “You know that.”

“Sometimes I need to make sure.” Tara reached out and took Fred’s hand. “Especially on days like today.” 

“Well, I love having you as my girlfriend, and I promise my parents will, too.”

“Don’t-- I don’t think you’ll meet my family,” Tara said. “I don’t know if you expect to, or anything, but my family’s kind of-- they don’t like me.”

“That’s okay,” Fred said. “You can share mine. I promise, they won’t mind.”

Tara smiled. “Thanks.”

 

Two weeks later, Tara found herself being pulled through a busy airport by an excited Fred. She had never been in an airport before, and she wasn’t sure she’d want to be in one again; it was crowded, and it was noisy, and even the potted plants had an air about them of being manufactured. It was an unnatural space, and Tara wanted out.

But she also wanted to go with Fred to see her parents, and Fred’s parents were in Texas, and it wasn’t like either of them had a car. So Tara allowed herself to be pulled through the airport to the gate, and then she sat in a weird leather chair connected to a bunch of other weird leather chairs while Fred went to find food.

She came back after about fifteen minutes, holding two hamburgers. She handed one to Tara, then sat. 

“We have half an hour until we board,” she said. “Are you doing okay?”

Tara nodded. “I’m just not good with crowds.”

“Me, either,” Fred said. “In Pylea, when there were crowds, it was usually because they wanted to do something like cut my head off.”

“Oh. I’ve never had a crowd like that,” Tara said, taking a bite of her burger. “The worst crowd I’ve been in was an anti-gay protest.”

“How’d you wind up at an anti-gay protest?”

“It was my dad’s idea of a family outing.”

Fred shuddered. “No wonder you and your parents don’t get along.”

“My dad,” Tara said. “My mom was-- she was good. She used to give me little rainbows, like necklaces and bracelets and on my food and stuff.”

“That’s sweet.” Fred reached out and squeezed Tara’s hand. “I’m glad you had her.”

“Me too.” Tara glanced sideways at Fred. “She’d have liked you.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” Tara glanced at the people around her and took her hand away from Fred’s.

A little while later, a badly amplified voice came from the gate desk.

“Attention all passengers on flight 5833 to Dallas/Fort Worth: we are now beginning pre-boarding for disabled passengers and passengers travelling with small children.”

Fred stood up. “Come on.”

“We don’t have small children.”

“We stand in line anyway,” Fred explained. “I don’t know why. I think it just makes us feel like we’re doing something.”

So Tara stood with Fred, and then she boarded the plane with Fred, and then she sat on the plane with Fred, squeezing Fred’s hand as hard as she could as it sped up and then shot into the sky.

The flight was terrifying, but fun. Tara loved the clouds hanging over the Earth; she felt like she was seeing them from the wrong side, like she had captured the cloud in the morning before it had done its hair. She had seen a painting like this in one of her art history classes; it had been by Georgia O’Keeffe. For some reason, it had stuck with her.

She said all that to Fred, and Fred looked at her like she was made of especially interesting subatomic particles (although, Tara was sure that if she asked Fred which subatomic particles were the most interesting, Fred wouldn’t have been able to decide).. 

And then the plane landed, and Tara stumbled out into the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, holding Fred’s hand.

“That was really interesting,” she said. “How does the plane stay up like that?”

Fred launched into an explanation of lift and drag and air currents, and Tara tried to follow it, but mostly she just enjoyed the excitement in Fred’s voice as they walked through the airport. The space was unfamiliar, but Fred was still solidly herself. 

Soon enough, Tara and Fred stood beneath an overhang on a drab concrete sidewalk, waiting for Fred’s parents to appear in a sea of cars.

“Are you sure they’ll be okay with me?” Tara asked. “I’ve only talked to them once. And you’ve never had a girlfriend before.”

“They’re fine,” Fred said. “My little brother’s gay, and they handled that all right. I mean, they hated his first boyfriend, but that’s because his first boyfriend was a jerk. You’re not a jerk. You’re nice.”

Tara smiled. “Thanks.”

Fred squeezed her hand. A minute or so passed in relative silence, and then a car pulled up and stopped right in front of them. Fred grabbed her suitcase, so Tara did too, and then Fred was pulling her towards the car. A kind-looking woman got out and immediately ran at Fred.

“Fred! It’s so nice to see you.” She gave Fred a big hug, which Fred returned with one arm, letting go of Tara’s hand. 

Fred’s mom pulled away and turned to Tara.

“And you must be Tara! It’s so nice to see you in person. Come on, let’s get your bags all packed up.”

Tara nodded, smiling awkwardly. She lifted her bag into the trunk, and then followed Fred into the car, where her dad was waiting at the wheel. He immediately turned around to face Fred and Tara.

“Hey, there, Winnie!”

“Dad,” Fred protested, but Tara could tell she was happy. “No one’s called me Winnie in years.”

“Which is why I have to,” her dad finished. “And is this your girl?”

“This is Tara,” Fred said.

“Hi,” Tara said, waving weakly. 

“Hey, Tara. Call me Roger. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Tara said, shaking his hand.

Fred’s mom got back in the front seat, and Roger turned around and started inching the car out of its space.

“So, Tara, how did you and Fred meet?” Fred’s mom asked.

“Work,” Tara said.

“Tara was with some of Angel’s friends in Sunnydale,” Fred said, “and then she came to stay with us in L. A. when she needed a change.”

“So, Tara, do you also fight demons?” Roger asked.

Tara looked at Fred, surprised.

“I like to help,” Tara answered.

“Tara’s a witch,” Fred explained. “She’s very good.”

“And, uh, where’s Sunnydale?” Fred’s mom asked.

“It’s a little town,” Tara said. “It’s, um, it’s not very popular with the living.”

“So, are you from there?” Fred’s mom probed.

“No, I'm from Indiana,” Tara answered. “I moved to Sunnydale for college. And, um, to g- get away from my family.”

“I’m sorry you had to do that,” Fred’s mom said. “If you ever need a family, we’re here for you, all right?”

Tara looked at Fred, who was smiling encouragingly at her. “I’ll let you g- get to know me first,” she said.

“I told you they were nice,” Fred whispered, loud enough that her parents could hear. They just laughed.

Fred’s house was lovely. It wasn’t that it was particularly well-decorated; it was just that it was clearly a home, with hand-embroidered pillows on the mismatched armchairs and pictures of Fred and other family members plastered everywhere. Tara was immediately distracted by one of Fred’s baby pictures, which featured Fred staring at a jigsaw puzzle with a look of complete determination. As Fred led Tara through the house to the guest room, Tara noticed the magnets on the refrigerator, the marked-up calendar on the wall, and the books stacked everywhere. It was nothing like Tara’s family’s house, which had felt cold, the walls decorated with Biblical scenes, the fridge and mantels bare. 

The guest room was neat, with a double bed covered in a blue quilt, a lamp on a beautiful wooden nightstand, and a little bathroom attached. Tara put her suitcase in the corner and kissed Fred, thinking that this was already more of a home than her house had been.

 


End file.
